The Name of God Sunday Service Children s Story Materials: Chart of the Divine Self Pictures of Moses and burning bush Preparations: Prepare any necessary materials. Invite children up to steps of altar. Reader of story sits in a chair, children sitting on floor in front reader Include children s story, even if there are no children in your congregation, to welcome families who may come to the service. You can add your own creativity to the stories. You may feel comfortable using props or presenting them just as they are written. Feel free to adjust the content to fit your time frame. However, for the spiritual development of the child, we encourage keeping as much of the Ascended Master s Teachings as possible. Time: Approximately 10 minutes depending on storyteller s delivery and children s responses. Good morning and welcome to our children s story. Today our story is about the name of God. How many names do you have? (Allow children to answer.) Yes, you have your first name, last name and some of you have a middle name. Some might have a baptismal or confirmation name. Do any of you have nicknames? (Allow children to answer.) Sometimes there is a special reason why we have our name. Maybe you are named after a grandfather, or an aunt or uncle. Do you know that names can have meanings? (Allow children to answer.) John means God is gracious and merciful, Anna means favor 1
or grace. Do you know what the meaning of Saint Germain is? (Allow children to answer.) It means Holy Brother. God has many names too. How many names of God do you think are referred to in the Bible? (Allow children to answer.) More than 200 names of God. For example Lord, God Almighty, Jehovah and many more. All His names show how big and great and wonderful God is. But God is even more than all the magnificent ways we can describe Him. He just IS. God exists and lives everywhere, even in our hearts. God has a special name that tells us that very thing that He IS. Today our story is from the Bible and in it you will find out what his special name is. Moses and the Burning Bush Our story begins with some background information about Moses. We know that Moses was an Israelite who had been raised in the palace as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. Moses grew up living in luxury and had a good education, learning about stars, science and mathematics. When Moses got older and learned that he was a Hebrew or Israelite, he wanted to know more about his people. One day he witnessed an Egyptian mistreating Israelite slaves. He did not like that at all and protected the slaves. 2
Now, Moses was no longer welcome in the palace. He left and went into the desert and there he lived for forty years, married and had a family. This is the point our story begins. Moses is out in the field taking care of the sheep of his father- in- law, Jethro. (Show picture.) One day, while wandering over the barren hills, Moses led the sheep out into the wilderness near the mountain called Horeb, known as the mountain of God. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses as a flame from the middle of a bush. (Show picture.) The most amazing thing was that the bush was on fire, yet it was not consumed or burned away by the flames. Moses could not explain it, and he said to himself, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. In all the years he had studied science while living in the Egyptian palace as a boy, Moses had never learned of anything like this. And when the Lord saw that Moses turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. Moses walked closer to the bush, Here am I, answered Moses. Then the voice spoke again. Don t come any nearer; take off your shoes, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. Now Moses knew that God was speaking to him. Quickly he removed his sandals and bowed his head. Up to this moment he had been anxious to examine the burning bush. Now, he was afraid to look upon God. 3
And God said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. I know all about the pain of the Israelites and their suffering at the hands of the Egyptians. I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them. As Moses listened his heart was touched by God s compassion for his people. During the forty years since he had left Egypt, he had almost forgotten what was going on there. But God had not forgotten. However, Moses might still have been wondering why God was telling him. He soon found out why. Come now therefore, God said, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. But Moses did not think he was the man for the job. He was now older and weary. He had lost all of his old self- confidence. He asked, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? Certainly I will be with thee, God said. You won t be going alone. You can trust Me at all times to help you. But Moses did not want to go for he was slow of speech. So, he began to make excuses. Moses asked God, Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? Then what shall I tell them? And God said unto Moses, I AM That I AM : and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. 4
And Moses obeyed God and did lead the Israelites out of Egypt. However it took them forty years to get to the promised land. We ll save that story for another time. Moses was an embodiment of the ascended master Lord Ling, God- of Happiness. You can call to him to receive joy and abundance. CONCLUSION: What name did God give to Moses? (Allow children to answer.) Yes, I AM! This is one of the most important names of God that we have. We know that the name I AM represents your own individualized God Presence. Where do we have a picture of the I AM Presence in our chapel? (Allow children to answer.) Yes, right there in the front of our altar. Here is a picture of your I AM Presence surrounded by the spheres of your Causal Body. (Show picture.) Every time we say I AM, we are saying God is. When we say, I AM, we are saying, God in me is. So, when we say, I AM Light! we are saying God in me is light. How can we know the way to our I AM Presence?" Jesus told his disciples, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14) We can make contact with our I AM Presence by becoming close to our own Christ Self in our heart. One way we can do this is when we decree. Statements that begin with I AM are called affirmations. Jesus showed us how to tap the power of God's name and each of our I AM Presences when he made the statements: "I AM the resurrection and the life," 5
"I AM the Light of the world," "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life." We can say these statements too. Let s end our story today by reciting each one of these affirmations. Let s look up at the I AM Presence on the chart and feel that dazzling white light streaming down upon you. Please place your hands upon your heart while we recite: (Say each one slowly with the children.) "I AM the resurrection and the life," "I AM the Light of the world," "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life." Thank you for sharing in our story. Have a wonderful day. 6
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